Lago La Plata at Damsite -
50045000

Lago La
Plata is located in the municipio of Toa Alta, and was
constructed in 1974 by the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer
Authority (PRASA). The
main purpose of this reservoir is to serve as a public
water-supply source for the people living in the municipios of
Bayamón, Naranjito, and Toa Alta, among others

View of Lago La Plata
Reservoir. Photo by Matthew Larsen, USGS.

Real-time Reservoir Level

Real-time
resevoir level graph updated hourly with the exception of
emergency transmissions which are at 5 minute intervals. To view
real-time data, follow the link below.

Click on in the basin
map for combined real-time reservoir and rainfall information.

Lago La Plata has a
drainage area of 181.0 square miles(291 square kilometers).
Originally, the reservoir had a water-storage capacity of 35,598
acre-feet ( 43.9 million cubic meters ), but by 1998 the
capacity had been reduced by sediment infilling to 28,747
acre-feet ( 35.5 million cubic meters ). During 1995, the
Enrique Ortega Filtration Plant produced 42 million gallons per
day ( 159 million liters per day ) to serve a population of
about 350,000 persons.

The U.S. Geological Survey, in
cooperation with PRASA, has produced a number of reports
regarding effects of sediment infilling on storage capacity of
Lago La Plata, including:

These
reports can be purchased at a nominal cost by contacting Information Desk at the U.S.
Geological Survey, GSA Center, 651 Federal Drive, Suite 400-15,
Guaynabo, PR 00965, 787-749-4346 ext. 296. Please contact Water-Use Information, 787-749-4346
ext. 259, if you have other questions regarding water supply in Puerto
Rico.

The
table below shows the relationship between reservoir level and
available water. This information is presented in graphical format
in the figure above. Note that an acre-foot is a volume of water
that would cover an acre (43,560 square feet) to a depth of 1
foot.